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Sunday, June 17, 2018

ROSSBURG, Ohio (June 16, 2018) - After spending the entire morning and an early portion of the afternoon rebuilding a car in the hotel parking lot, Elk Grove, California’s Kyle Larson rewarded his crew in a big way on Saturday night by claiming round two of Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by C&R Racing at the world-famous Eldora Speedway. Larson’s first-ever Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 triumph at the World’s Greatest Dirt Track was accomplished his fantastic fashion, climbing ahead from eighth on the starting grid, ultimately withstanding a last lap surge by the “Buckeye Bullet” Dave Blaney to score the $5,000 payday.

Fellow California native Carson Macedo would sneak by Blaney in the final two corners to finish second at the final checkers, followed by Blaney, Tim Shaffer, and Clute, Texas, native Aaron Reutzel.

“I’m so happy to get it done here tonight for my guys. Paul Silva and the crew built this car this morning; this is a brand new car from the tires up. We got here just in time to catch the drivers meeting and get in the seat for hot laps,” Kyle Larson said, driver of the Paul Silva-owned/Brandt/Eneos/Finley Farms/Priority Aviation/No. 57 sprinter. “I made a mistake last night and it cost us a car. This really makes up for that. I’ve now won in every kind of car I have ever raced here at Eldora. That’s pretty cool considering I’ve only raced here like ten times.”

Forced to start on the outside of row four by way of dash result, Larson, who was taking advantage of an off-weekend from NASCAR competition to battle with Tony Stewart’s All Stars, wasted little time advancing to the front of the field, boosting himself to fourth as the front-runners raced by the flagstand for the first time.

By lap seven, Larson worked his way to second, now in pursuit of race-long leader, Aaron Reutzel, who owned a commanding lead equalling just over two seconds. Just two circuits later, Larson was on the tail tank of Reutzel, chasing the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports entry through turns one and two on lap ten, eventually utilizing a slingshot move off of the corner to squeeze between Reutzel and a lapped car as the leaders raced down the back straightaway. Larson’s brave move worked, leading Reutzel to the line to officially lead lap ten.

Although impressive, Larson’s first campaign at the front of the field was short-lived as Dave Blaney was able to put the moves on the NASCAR star by using his preferred line through the middle of the speedway. Soon enough, Blaney caught Larson to take command on lap 13.

A pair of cautions on lap 17 and lap 19 gave Larson two opportunities to regain the top spot from the former World of Outlaws champion. Although the first attempt failed, unable to drive by the Premier Motorsports entry as the pair raced through turns one and two on lap 17, the second attempt proved to be more successful, allowing Larson to build enough momentum on the topside of the speedway to chase down Blaney by lap 23. On lap 24, Larson made a perfect bid for the race lead by sticking a textbook slider between turns one and two. Although escaping into traffic, Blaney never gave up, actually tracking down Larson before attempting a last-ditch effort slider in turn one on the final circuit. The slidejob attempt was unsuccessful.

“I actually saw Dave (Blaney) attempt to drive under me at one point there toward the end,” Kyle Larson continued. “Once I got to the top, I could really build some momentum.”

The victory was Larson’s seventh against the All Star Circuit of Champions.

From The Big E to one of Ohio’s most competitive bullrings, Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by C&R Racing will continue on Sunday evening, June 17, with a visit to Waynesfield Raceway Park just south of Lima. Pit gates are scheduled to open at 3:30 p.m., followed by a mandatory All Star drivers meeting at 5:30 p.m. The first session of All Star hop laps is scheduled to hit the speedway at 6:10 p.m., sharp. Those seeking additional news and notes should visit Waynesfield Raceway Park live on the Web at www.waynesfieldmotorsportspark.com.